Tatters
by write4cupcakes
Summary: Suki and Sokka nonsense taking place around the Southern Raiders & Ember Island Players episodes.


"Well, this is a problem," Suki said, holding up what had once been her shirt, trying not to laugh.

"It was practically falling apart anyway!" Sokka said, defensive.

"It was. And the pants are entirely my fault. I know that. But this still doesn't leave me with many options. All I've got to wear is this necklace you made me. Which I love," Suki hastily added.

"Oh... right." Sokka tried to concentrate and think of a solution, but that was proving difficult, with so many distractions.

"Sokka..." Suki rolled her eyes and covered herself with Sokka's robe, which had survived intact.

"Right..." Sokka furrowed his brow impressively. After a long pause, "I'm wondering... could we maybe do it again? There's something I want to try."

"Later, Sokka."

"I'm just curious about something. If I'm right, you'll enjoy it. I'd tell you more, but I want to make sure the results are unbiased." He tried to make the last part sound sexy. He really did.

Suki sighed patiently. On some level, she should have realized that Sokka would naturally treat her body like a science experiment. It was sort of endearing, actually, and Suki was sure she'd have some fun with that later, but the clothing problem was sort of pressing at the moment. "I'm not going to wander around naked." Suki felt it necessary to say so, since she wouldn't put it past Sokka to propose the idea as a solution.

"Hm. Okay, well, we'll just sew your old stuff back together until we can find you something new." Sokka was proud of himself and felt his genius deserved some kind of reward; he reached over to Suki hopefully.

She slapped his hand away. "Do you sew? Because I don't sew."

Sokka frowned. "Katara does the sewing." He looked seriously at Suki. "Can you just wear that?" He was finding that he really liked the way she looked in his robe, the way the differences in their figures were that much more exaggerated and obvious.

"This? I don't know. I'm kind of falling out of this thing."

Sokka had liked that, too. "Well... I suppose I have my Fire Nation disguise. But the front is kind of a pain to fasten properly..." He was, in fact, thinking more of the unfastening. Sokka worried that if, in his animal haste to get Suki undressed, he could completely forget how a shirt was supposed to work, then the tedious frogs that fastened his one other change of clothes would stand no chance whatsoever. And he didn't quite want to admit to Suki just how much he liked that shirt.

"Do you have any idea how long it takes to get into my Kyoshi getup? I think I can handle whatever your puzzle of a shirt can throw at me." Suki was already digging through his things. Before Sokka could remember to be self-conscious about the state and odor of what she might find, she'd fished out the pants and shirt, and was trying them on, making a big show of being extra careful with them to appease Sokka's fears. "Well, they seem to fit okay... What do you think?"

"They'll work. Can I try that thing now?"

Suki frowned at him. "No."

"Why not?" Sokka whined. "The clothing problem is as handled as it's going to be for now!"

"There's stuff to be done for the camp, Sokka. Wood to gather, food to find, that sort of thing. And with Katara and Zuko gone..."

"Stupid Zuko... always ruining everything..." Sokka mumbled.

"I know, I know." Suki had felt much the same. Zuko did have that oblivious way of cutting into her time with Sokka. Even last night, which had begun promisingly enough with Sokka asking for her to help him stay awake, only wound up with both of them waiting quietly in his tent for any indication that Katara and Zuko were making a run for it. Granted, after they'd inevitably left and Sokka returned to the tent feeling a little depressed, Suki had jumped him, more or less salvaging the whole evening.

Finally accepting that he wouldn't be able to coax Suki out of his clothes and back into his sleeping bag, Sokka dressed, albeit slowly and with a great deal of sulking.

"If they're not back by tonight, wanna defile Zuko's tent a little bit?" Suki offered.

That seemed to cheer up Sokka considerably.

* * *

Though Aang was undoubtedly a little distracted about Katara and Zuko's departure, he politely didn't mention anything about Suki's new wardrobe or the extremely obvious fact that she had spent the night in Sokka's tent.

Toph, on the other hand, took Suki aside almost immediately. "Look," she said bluntly, "I don't care what you and Sokka get up to, but I'm going to bury you both alive unless you can agree to a curfew and keep the volume down. Well, that, or I'll start using new nicknames for you both, based on the noises you make." Toph leaned in and grinned wickedly. "Is that clear, Mrs. Cow Hippo? Or would you prefer Screeching Dodo?"

"That's... that's not... I didn't..." Suki sputtered.

"I know. And you know. And Sokka knows. But who do you think everyone else would _want _to believe, huh?"

She was good, Suki would give her that much. And it was a pretty sure thing that if it were anyone else in the group, Sokka and Suki would run with the insults like no one's business. "Okay, so what kind of curfew are we talking here?"

* * *

Sokka had been almost disappointed to see his sister and Zuko return. With the sun setting, he'd been getting enthusiastic about the plan to sneak into and mess around inside of Zuko's tent, for a while even trying to convince Suki to go ahead with it in spite of Zuko's interference with their plans. Suki had talked him out of it, primarily because she was well aware that Zuko hadn't slept for two days; his stakeout outside Katara's tent the night before last had been the final nail in the coffin for Sokka's date night, just as his midnight escape had given Sokka and Suki a second chance. She was also a bit unsure how he might react, and didn't feel like pushing the limits of a sleep-deprived firebender with a bad temper.

"Fine," Sokka finally yielded. "But I had gotten things all set up, so I'm going to need some help moving them."

Knowing Sokka's scientific inclinations, Suki was deeply worried for a moment about just what "things" had been all set up, but her fears vanished when she saw the tent. Sokka had clearly spent much of the day gathering and arranging candles and flowers.

"It's what you missed the other night," he explained. "There were more candles before, but a few of them burnt out. What are you doing?"

"You weren't kidding about this shirt."

* * *

"Again?" Zuko asked, upon first spotting Sokka inside the tent, amidst that perfect romantic atmosphere of candles and roses. As Sokka climbed off of her, he spotted Suki. "Oh." Processing this, he glared at Sokka, and Suki could swear the candles in the room all flared at once.

"It just happened..." Sokka attempted to explain.

Zuko eyed the candles and picked up a rose. He had a point.

"Okay, so, we _were_ planning on it, when I set all this up, but then we decided not to," Sokka clarified. Zuko narrowed his eyes. Again, he made a good point. "Right," Sokka continued, "but then when Suki saw all this... well..."

Zuko's glare turned to Suki, who had been trying to stealthily gather her clothes. She smiled weakly and shrugged. "I couldn't help myself."

He seemed to accept that as an explanation, but frowned at Sokka again. "And why were you originally planning on... on this... in my tent?" It seemed to be taking a tremendous amount of self-control to keep his voice even. The candles flared again.

"I was mad at you... kind of?" There was a long silence, before Sokka broke. "It was Suki's idea."

Suki, who had managed to find her shirt, and had started that tedious process of fastening it, glared at Sokka. "Enjoy your night alone," she announced, and clearly not caring what Zuko might happen to glimpse, she marched out of Zuko's tent and hurried into her own. Sokka wasn't far behind her, having not bothered to gather his own clothes.

"Suki! I'm sorry!" he pleaded, standing just outside Suki's tent.

She pulled him inside before he could make much more of a spectacle. "Did Zuko follow you?"

"What? No... I don't know... Listen, I'm sorry, I was... _flustered._"

Suki silenced him with a kiss. "It was brilliant, the way you gave us that exit."

Sokka was quiet for a few moments, trying to catch up. Then, "Oh! Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. You're very clever."

"You're not so bad yourself." He grinned crookedly and kissed her.

"Good thing, too. I think between the two of us, we can get me back out of this thing before Toph's curfew."

Sokka didn't waste a second.

* * *

Sokka's pacing was proving to be a distraction.

"_What?_" Katara demanded, putting her needle down.

"I just want to know if it's going to be okay."

"It's going to be _fine._ I managed to deal with that number you guys did on your pants... both pairs of them... I think I can handle _one_ frog and a split seam."

"You _think_ or you _know_?"

"Get out, Sokka."

Suki tried to console him, but on some level, he was still a little mad at her. He may have even had a point. Yes, their new hideout on Ember Island was terribly romantic, with its beach and dozens of other secluded areas for when Suki got tired of finding sand _everywhere_... but she'd run into Sokka exploring that little closet and maybe it was the logistical challenge, but she just had to have him, right there and then. He'd seemed into it enough, until the close quarters and splintery walls had taken their toll on Suki and Sokka's comfort and clothing. Going to Katara with the articles to be mended and the fairly horrific scratches to be healed had been among even Sokka's less proud moments.

Not that Suki felt she had gotten off scot-free. The healing session with Katara and subsequent haggling to borrow something to wear, which did involve a promise to keep her hands to herself until they could get her new clothes, were tremendously awkward. It hadn't been any kind of secret what Sokka and Suki were getting up to, and while blunt conversations on that subject with Toph were one thing (having been educated on such matters by famous, burly earthbenders made Toph incredibly worldly), such conversations with Katara were another thing altogether, and that thing should be avoided like the plague.

Taking pity on her, Katara had imparted one bit of advice that just might prove helpful, though. "Sokka? So... I can't wear Katara's clothes forever, and Toph's won't fit, so... I'm going to need some new stuff. And I'm pretty lousy with clothes and what looks good, so I was wondering if maybe _you_ wanted to go shopping and pick out something for me to wear?"

Sokka was silent, but totally concealing his enthusiasm had never been a skill he possessed.

"Of course, this is all assuming that your shirt survives. If it doesn't, I understand that I'll have to go back to the Earth Kingdom, and never see you again."

"Suki..." Sokka sighed. "I'm sure my shirt will be fine."

She moved to punch him in the arm, but he caught her hand.

"Hey... HEY! _HEY!_" Suki really should have remembered the tub of water they had helped set up so Katara could do her healing thing, but somehow she'd forgotten, until its contents broke her and Sokka apart.

"We weren't _doing_ anything!" Sokka protested, holding his hands up in surrender.

"And it better stay that way," Katara threatened, tossing the repaired clothing at Sokka's head.

* * *

Suki was bored. "Really, that last skirt was fine. And would you stop looking at the jewelry stalls? I don't need anything."

Sokka sighed patiently. "It's not about what's 'fine' or what you 'need' or not. It's about putting together an _ensemble_, Suki. We want to blend in, and that means..." his eyes wandered. "That top is pretty! Let's see if they have it in your size!"

"Sokka," she grabbed his arm. "We got me a top. And it's functional. And I'm not wearing _that_."

He sighed again, meaningfully. "How is it that you're so resistant to getting a decent disguise, but you made a big deal about getting me into makeup and a dress to train with you?"

"Well, that was different. You had pissed me off a little bit and I was trying to humiliate you."

Sokka recovered quickly. "But... but there's still a reason _you_ wear that stuff. And it's not because it's purely functional."

"Right, but that's different. It's traditional. This..." Suki examined a heavy bracelet Sokka had been trying to admire without her noticing. "This is frivolous."

"So why do you think Kyoshi wore it in the first place?"

"Well... she... um..." Suki frowned. "Fine. But this doesn't mean I'm trying on that top."

"Fine. But you're trying on this skirt."

"Fine. But you better put back that belt. I promised Katara I wouldn't let you buy anything more for yourself."

"Fine. But then I'm getting you this necklace."

Suki glared at the jewelry. "You can't make me wear that."

"Stop being difficult. It's super flattering. I'm going to go look for something for your hair. Then we're looking at swimwear."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? I don't need-"

"If we left it all up to what you _need_, Suki, you'd probably still be wearing whatever was left of your prison clothes. Now try on that skirt. With these pants. And these. And that. I'll be back in just a minute with accessories."

Suki waited until he was gone to smile.

* * *

"What's this?"

"Your list of chores," Katara said.

"Right, I see that." Suki hesitated. "Is this because of yesterday? Because, I swear, we were just taking a break. We'd been sparring all morning..."

"I don't want to know what you call it!" Katara interrupted.

It took everything Suki had not to laugh. "Fighting. Training. Using weapons and things. The rest of you are usually busy with Aang."

"Oh. Right. Well, that's just my point. We're busy. We need you guys to take care of other things around the place."

Suki glanced at her list again. "I see that. 'Brush Appa's teeth'... 'Wash Momo daily'... or my favorite: 'Spy on people in town'..."

"You're always talking about how stealthy you are," Katara said with a great deal of sarcasm. "And you never know what you might overhear," she added defensively. "Some stray fact could be the difference between victory and defeat!"

"Right... okay... but this is Ember Island, Katara. People come here to vacation. They don't know anything. And if they do, they don't chat about it at the fish cart."

"You can't know that!" She was getting very shrill.

"Okay... sure... fine... but... I can't help but notice that all of these chores seem to involve someone else... as though you're trying to find a way to limit how much time Sokka and I spend alone together. Because if that's bothering you, we can work on it. Toph's talked to us about a curfew and pointed out some places where the sound carries too much, and we worked out some territory disputes with Zuko since it's his house sort of and he's got a bit of the beach that he likes to brood on... but if there's anything that's bothering you..."

"If you don't want to help out, that's fine... I'll just do it all myself _and_ all that extra washing and sewing _and_ try to work on my bending while you guys... while you two are..."

"... Working on _our _bending?" Suki offered. It was a mistake, but far too tempting to resist.

Katara glared at her and fumed dangerously. "I need to go."

"Okay... I'll just get started..." Suki checked her list, "...brushing Toph's hair? Oh, she'll like that."

"Hey Suki! Did you see this awesome list Katara gave us? She needs us to spy on people!"

* * *

"Sokka, you know this is stupid, right?"

"Shhhhh!" Sokka had picked a townsperson to follow, convinced he was suspiciously inconspicuous.

"This is a wild goose chase."

"You don't know that. Maybe it only looks like he's haggling about the cost of fire flakes and really it's all _code._ And if we figure it out, we could blow the whole thing open!"

"What whole thing?"

"The whole thing! It could go all the way to the _top_, Suki."

"So he's really an agent of the Fire Lord?"

"Exactly! Out here looking for information that could lead to _us._"

"That's pretty devious."

"I know! So be quiet so I can try to crack his code."

Suki gave him a minute. "What if he's actually just a normal guy who doesn't like being overcharged for snack food?"

"I'm not unwilling to rule that out."

"But it would mean we sort of wasted an afternoon, wouldn't it?"

"I wouldn't say that." Sokka took her hand. "Now come on... he's on the move!"

* * *

"I can't keep doing this. We need to talk to your sister."

"About what?"

"Unless we start getting more subtle about it."

"About what?"

"And I don't really see that happening." Suki pecked him on the cheek.

"I appreciate that, but I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Us. Being together. Physically. It's making your sister weird. Well, weirder."

"You're imagining things."

"She has us guarding the house! And she's been running drills to make sure we're paying attention!"

"See, that's necessary, though."

"Only until just after Toph's curfew? When it's suddenly okay to abandon our posts and go to bed?"

"Well... we need to sleep sometime. I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"Uh huh." Suki folded her arms.

Sokka caved. "We can ask her if you want, but I think it's just going to be awkward and you'll just feel silly."

"I'm willing to risk it."

Katara was along shortly, running her 'shadowy, unidentifiable figure on the premises' drill.

"Hey Katara... can we talk to you for a minute?" Sokka mumbled. "Do you have... um... some kind of... like... _problem_... with Suki and I... us...?" Too overcome with embarrassment to use the euphemisms he and Suki generally employed, Sokka made some awkward hand gestures.

Suki was about to clarify, but Katara's nervous laughter cut her off. "What? No... no no... What do mean? No problem! No... Ha... it's so funny you'd think I'd have a problem..." Katara reddened.

"Uh... I hadn't thought so, but after that... Suki may have a point."

Katara looked as though she might want to attempt a less overenthusiastic denial, but soon gave up. "We're in the middle of a war, in case you two had been too busy to notice!"

"I had definitely picked up on the war thing," Sokka replied flatly.

"You could have fooled me!"

"What? Why? Because I'm actually managing to enjoy myself? I'm not going to put my life on hold, Katara. Especially since we don't know what will happen!"

"Well, fine! If you want to waste your time..."

"I do... and I will!" He grabbed Suki's hand. "Come on. We've still got an hour before Toph's curfew."

After they made it to Sokka's room, he confided, "I wish I could have swept you up or thrown you over my shoulder or something. It would have looked really cool, but I wasn't sure I could pull it off."

"I was just about to say the same thing." Suki grinned. "But to be fair, you are kinda heavy."


End file.
